RecruitPKB: Coach Communication Etiquette Tips

A few quick tips for improving your coach communications etiquette Email Etiquette: Always address the coach specifically and have a greeting to start the email Check your grammar and spelling Make sure you attach any documents Have an appropriate email address Create multiple paragraphs instead of one big chunk of an email Reply in a timely manner Reply to coaches with a nicely written email saying thank you but that you aren't interested for schools that reach out but that you aren't interested in pursuing Phone or Video Call Etiquette: Sit up straight and be attentive and enthusiastic Smile and be engaging (even on a phone call) Try to avoid the Uhs and Ums Have questions and topics to discuss Good manners and show gratitude for their time Don't have a lot of background noise Etiquette on Visits: Be on time Good handshake, look the coach in [...]

By |2024-05-09T14:40:50-04:00May 9th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: A Look at DI Collegiate Averages

While this process has a great deal of subjectivity to it, I've come to appreciate data and numbers more over the years. This is a chart compiled of the average scores for the top 5 individuals from a mix of DI programs (through March 27th of the 2023-2024 fall and spring seasons). Typically collegiate tournaments at this level are played from approximately 6000-6200 yards. Also, collegiate tournaments are set up more difficult with pin placements, faster greens, and overall tougher conditions given the time of year that collegiate golf is played (not summer golf weather). And the added pressure of your coach and teammates counting on you heightens the stress level just a bit when you step on that first tee each time. Many times you will hear a coach say they are trying to recruit to replace their #2 or #3 players on the team, this [...]

By |2024-03-29T13:41:45-04:00March 28th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: How to say I am not interested

I've had this question asked several times by players over the years, "how do I tell a coach that I am not interested?".  This may be a question you face at different stages of communication with a coach so I wanted to address a couple of scenarios and give you some insight into how I have my players address this topic. If you receive an initial email from a coach at a school that you know you would not attend no matter what, it is still common courtesy to send a reply back. Even if your resume is much stronger than the girls who play for that program, NEVER think you are better than the players, the school, or the coach. We have all been at different stages in our games, we all have different goals of playing (and coaching) college golf and many coaches work tirelessly to [...]

By |2024-03-21T16:56:58-04:00March 20th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Verbal vs. NLI

I wanted to do a comparison of the difference between a verbal commitment and when you actually sign your NLI. A verbal commitment is just a verbal agreement which is not legally binding, however, the NLI legally binds a student-athlete (SA) to attend that institution for one academic year in exchange for receiving athletic aid. While a verbal commitment can be made once communication begins on June 15th prior to junior year, the SA can only sign the NLI when the signing period begins in November of their senior year. A verbal commitment is an agreement between an SA and the current coach. The NLI is an agreement between the SA and the institution. Once the NLI is signed all recruiting discussions with other coaches must end. If an SA has made a verbal commitment and the coach leaves that institution, the SA is not required to [...]

By |2024-02-15T14:40:17-05:00February 14th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Focus On What You Can Do

Continuing in this series.. “What you think you need vs what you actually need." This one is comparing yourself to others when you need to be focused on what you can do. So I feel like we all KNOW this but sometimes we just need a reminder every now and then. Stop for a second and think if social media didn’t exist. Seriously, stop for a second. Take a deep breath and just think about it. Let all the stuff that consumes your thoughts that come strictly from what you see on social media escape your perception of yourself, your golf game, and the recruiting process. Would you tend to just stay in your own lane and focus on your own timing and goals? Would you feel better about yourself and your golf game? Would you be happier and less anxious about the process? Clearly, we can’t [...]

By |2024-01-11T16:46:18-05:00January 17th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Get More Wins First

Starting a new series.. “What you think you need vs what you actually need” First up is the need to feel like you should be playing better-ranked tourneys in order to get recruited before you even learn how to win tourneys! Yes, ultimately you have to keep pushing yourself by playing tourneys that are challenging! And you’ll hear from coaches at panels and forums that they are looking for certain types of tourneys and distances, and you’ll feel like you need to play those events if you want to play in college. But if you skip an important step of player development which is learning how to win tournaments at different stages (local, state, regional, national) then you are going to struggle every time you get yourself in a position of leading a tourney or needing to finish a strong round. So try not to get caught [...]

By |2024-01-11T16:34:27-05:00January 11th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: No Coach Response

To follow up on my post just before Christmas, let's address something else that happens and seems to be getting more common unfortunately. Yes, a lot of coaches will just ignore your emails.. Or they’ll start communication and suggest a call then you’ll find it hard to get that set up with them.. or a similar scenario with a visit. Why does this happen?!? Well, good question! Honestly, sometimes the coach just doesn’t want to respond, harsh but true... you may even be a realistic recruit but they just don’t want to take the time to respond. Just that simple. They get a lot of emails and that is just not how they want to spend their time. And there are times they just shift focus away from recruiting. It’s emotionally, mentally, and physically taxing to recruit so at times they just shut down recruiting to focus [...]

By |2023-12-14T09:32:11-05:00January 4th, 2024|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Advice for 2025s

Listen up 2025 recruits... First, let me start by saying that it is very competitive and there are a lot of really good players. Plus there are a lot of really good academic girls. That's a great thing! Really good academic female golfers are not the exception, they are typically the rule. Again, that's a great thing! I know that may not ease the stress you’re feeling but it is just to state some truths which is what you have to at least accept first. Then you can face things head on knowing what you are up against and where you fit with the timing for the process.  There are currently 251 girls in the 2025 recruiting class with a scoring differential below 1 on JGS. This group of players (plus some international recruits) has been the majority of the focus for coaches as they try to get [...]

By |2023-12-14T09:14:02-05:00December 14th, 2023|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Why Won’t The Coach Reply?

First, we are going to assume the NCAA rules allow the coach to respond (current 2024 and 2025 recruits). Once that is established there are several reasons why you may not get responses with the most common usually being that you aren’t being realistic with the strength of the golf program. But here are a few reasons why the coach may not be responding to your attempts to contact them: 1. The golf program isn’t realistic for your resume 2. Your academics aren’t strong enough for the school 3. It was a poorly written intro email 4. Your resume doesn’t have all the necessary info 5. They are done with your recruiting class 6. They are busy and just not focused on recruiting 7. They just simply aren’t interested or not seeking out new prospects I know it’s very frustrating to not receive responses back from [...]

By |2023-11-16T15:10:27-05:00November 15th, 2023|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: What’s Next as a 2025 Recruit?

As a 2025 recruit, the next few months do get very specific to each individual recruit and their situation but I want to share a few thoughts to guide you. As you head into the start of junior year I'm sure you have some excitement as you wrap up the first summer of the recruiting process being active. For some of you, if you played really well this summer (as a general rule of thumb, you averaged under 75 in state and national tournaments), then you have potentially generated interest from the coaches who are actively recruiting 2025 recruits. If so you may be asked on some visits this fall and could even make your decision. Keep in mind, that it is a small percentage of all 2025 recruits who will make their decision this fall, so don't stress if you aren't in that phase of the [...]

By |2023-08-30T15:14:46-04:00August 30th, 2023|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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